WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest nose guard Nikita Whitlock was been named to both the Bronco Nagurski and the Outland Trophy Watch Lists on Thursday. The Nagurski award is given annually to the nation's best defensive player and the Outland Trophy is awarded to the country's top interior lineman.

Whitlock is a two-time All-ACC honoree, earning second team honors each of the past two seasons. The Wylie, Texas, native has amassed 116 total tackles during his career in addition to 30 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.

Whitlock enters the 2013 season just two tackles for loss shy of entering the school's career top-10 list. He is also 2.5 sacks shy of the all-time sacks list.

A total of 81 defensive players were named to the Bronco Nagurski watch list. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Nov. 15. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner is chosen from five finalists who are part of the FWAA All-America Team and presented the award on Dec. 9 at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C.

The Outland Trophy honors the top interior lineman either on the offensive or defensive side of the ball. Whitlock is one of 75 players on the 2013 watch list which will be trimmed to six or seven semifinalists on Nov. 20. Five days later three Outland Trophy finalists will be named by the FWAA. The winner of the 68th Outland Trophy, named after the late John Outland, an All-America lineman at Penn at the turn of the 20th century, will be announced on ESPN on The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 12 from Disney's Boardwalk in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Whitlock has been named to a total of three preseason watch lists this summer. In addition to the Nagurski and Outland lists, the Wylie, Texas native was named to the Bednarik Award watch list earlier this week.